


Predictability

by musterings



Series: Summer Gladnis Week 2019 [6]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Car Sex, Established Relationship, Grief/Mourning, Hopeful Ending, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Post-Canon, Rain, Road Trips, Thunderstorms, Trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-18
Updated: 2019-08-18
Packaged: 2020-09-06 19:03:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20296447
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/musterings/pseuds/musterings
Summary: A flash of light tore through the veil of rain, and the thunder split through their comfortable silence.Gladio’s heart jumped in his chest and he jolted in Ignis’s embrace, as if it was him that lightning had struck.“Are you alright Gladio?” asked Ignis. Gladio could just make out the concern in his brow, and his fingers trailed along his jaw, more to soothe than to stimulate."Yeah,” Gladio pulled Ignis closer to him again, the pulsing beat in his ears clashing with the drum of the rain, “I'm good."Written for Summer Gladnis Week 2019, Day 6, prompt: thunderstorms, impromptu road trip; adjectives: melancholy, comfortable





	Predictability

**Author's Note:**

> This follows on from the day 4 fic "Stickshifts and safetybelts" but can be read standalone.

It took some clever maneuvering, but Gladio managed to close his mangled umbrella just as he closed the car door after him, which still left a brief window of time for the heavy rain to hit his jacket. 

"No more vacancies left for tonight,” he grunted.

From inside the darkness of their car, Ignis raised his head.

"You can never really predict the summer rains," said Ignis, his voice gentle, having sensed the frustration in his husband's. 

"If we had gotten here a couple of hours sooner, we could've nabbed a room." 

The rain hammered against the roof of their car, the curtains of water so thick all Gladio could see were the smudged faint lights from the motel signs and windows outside. 

It had started off as a light sprinkle, but the heavens were always unpredictable, both a blessing and a curse after a decade of predictable darkness, and soon dark clouds rolled over the horizon and engulfed the remaining afternoon sun, bucketing showers in their wake. Where Gladio had been prepared to keep driving like they could outrun the storm, the first rumble of thunder brought a tentative touch to his forearm and a quiet suggestion from Ignis to find somewhere to stay the night, and weather the storm out, so to speak. 

Their impromptu road trip wasn't urgent. Cor had requested a meeting with an important contact in Galdin Quay regarding materials that could only be requisitioned from that region, and while they were there, to check up on a acquaintance’s unoccupied cottage that they could stay in for the week.

It was clear to both Gladio and Ignis that the errand was a mere trifle. It was likely that Cor had not yet recovered from the guilt of cutting their honeymoon short the month prior, that tender hearted old geezer. Still reeling from her wounds, Insomnia welcomed an influx of refugees and old citizens who needed resettling, and thus Cor and the city’s newly formed government required a flurry of arrangements to find temporary homes amidst the rebuilding and assistance with controlling any signs of unrest in the jump in population within the city centre. Though sympathetic to the cause, there was no doubt Iris had given Cor an earful, and had managed to negotiate the second to last week of the summer for their extended break.

They hadn’t argued when they were called home earlier then, they all had their parts to play to prop up their homeland once more, and any semblance of time they could spend together after their wedding, _ hell, _ the fact that Gladio made it to the end to his wedding with Ignis was enough of a gift. But they weren’t going to argue a much needed break either, especially one where they could still help out in the process.

They set off in a small restored five-seater car that could never hold a candle to the Regalia, and Gladio started the ignition with a mixed slew of emotions in his gut. Watching Ignis from the corner of his eye in the passenger seat unearthed memories of their teenaged years, of Gladio driving an Ignis who was too exhausted to even walk up the stairs to his house or of Ignis snuggled right beside him in the front seat of his father's old convertible under the stars. It was just the two of them, so Ignis kept his visor stowed away in his bag, with no need to hide his scars or his pale and distant gaze. He was beautiful in the sunlight, in spite of and maybe also _ because _ of everything they’ve been through, and the smile Ignis gave him whenever he sensed his gaze on him made Gladio’s heart soar, like he was a teenager driving Ignis to a date in his father’s car again.

But before the rain had blessed them with an obfuscation of the Leiden landscape, to see Ignis in the passenger seat with the long stretch of Leide's desert roads as his backdrop and the back seat devoid of the incessant click of the camera or the quiet snore of a snoozing Prince, Gladio could not help the melancholy that accompanied the nostalgia in his chest, always inevitably following along, like thunder did with lightning.

"Are there any caravans nearby?" asked Ignis. 

"Not for another hour drive," said Gladio, "Otherwise we're stuck here for who knows how long."

"I won’t be able to judge how safe it is to drive as well as you would. I trust you would make the wisest decision." 

Gladio let out an exhale as he held the back of Ignis's hand that sat on his lap, "And the wisest decision would be to wait it out."

"It seems you _ have _ learned something from my years of nagging after all," said Ignis with a small smile. 

“I’ll have you know I absorbed more than you think,” said Gladio, “Lemme go find us a better parking spot.”

And it was apparent that waiting it out would be the wisest decision, considering the great care Gladio took to drive through the heavy rain and just to a parking spot further away from the motel, away from streetlights overhead. He pulled on the handbrake and the now distant parking lot lights set his nostalgia aglow once more. Only a few years ago, the gentlest flicker of streetlights were their havens away from havens. 

The hum of their hard-working engine ceased as Gladio took his keys out of the ignition, and it was silent, save for the drumming of rain drops on the roof of their car.

"How much longer do you think it’ll last?" asked Ignis. 

"Hard to say,” said Gladio, “Lucky we’re stranded in the middle of summer. At least we won’t be freezing out here.”

“It gets quite cold out in the desert,” muttered Ignis, and his hand reached out to seek out Gladio’s.

“So I’ve heard,” said Gladio, “We don’t want to use up our battery so soon on heating though.”

“You’re quite right. And all I have with me right now is my husband whose metabolism has him emanating heat like an energy deposit,” Ignis laced their fingers together, and he brought Gladio’s hand up to his lips, “Whatever shall we do.”

“_ And _ an old blanket in the back seat,” said Gladio with a fond chuckle. The gentle press of Ignis’s lips against his hand dampened the weight in his heart. "Come on, come sit with me." 

Gladio clambered over to the back seat first and held his hand out to help Ignis cross over the center console to reach the back seat after him. 

Stuffed by the back window of their car was an old knitted throw blanket, which he wrapped around their shoulders. They huddled next to each other, almost pressed against the corner of the car door and the back seat, with their long legs folded under them and their shoes pulled off and left to sit on the floor next to their backpacks. Ignis leaned against Gladio’s chest, and Gladio wrapped his arm around his waist as he read out the messages he’d received from family and friends back home.

"Prompto wrote yesterday actually," said Gladio.

"I remember you saying that."

"I told him we'll be back in time for when he's in the city next week." 

Ignis huddled closer and squeezed the hand that was holding his waist. 

"It's almost that time of the year isn't it?" muttered Ignis. Every year the last few days of August and the end of summer heralded more than the melancholy of the first few fallen leaves of autumn.

"We'll be there for him this year,” Gladio kissed the top of Ignis’s head, “And I'll be there for you too." 

Ignis’s sombre smile was delicate in the cold white light of Gladio’s phone. Even without the painfully familiar views of their corner of Lucis, Ignis would be mulling over their journeys past and present as well, if not moreso than Gladio did. He was familiar with the dull pain behind that smile, having bore its ache throughout their drive, and he’d do what he can within his power to rid Ignis of it. 

Gladio pressed his lips against that sad smile. 

“It gets cold in the desert remember,” mumbled Gladio.

“Whatever shall we do,” Ignis whispered, and there was now a hint of mischief to his smile that allowed Gladio to call his a job well done.

Another kiss and warm lips parted against his, and a hand on his jaw, once soft and supple but now with a palm just as toughened as Gladio’s, invited him into the heat of Ignis’s mouth. The rain continued to pelt against the window, interrupted only by the soft breaths they drew through their noses and the rustle of their clothes as Gladio pulled Ignis to press against him. In the near darkness of the parking lot, Gladio could focus on the heat of Ignis’s skin as he slipped his hands under his shirt. Ignis's quiet gasps urged his desire along, down to where their hips pressed against each other.

A flash of light tore through the veil of rain, and the thunder split through their comfortable silence.

Gladio’s heart jumped in his chest and he jolted in Ignis’s embrace, as if it was him that lightning had struck.

“Are you alright Gladio?” asked Ignis. Gladio could just make out the concern in his brow, and his fingers trailed along his jaw, more to soothe than to stimulate.

"Yeah,” Gladio pulled Ignis closer to him again, the pulsing beat in his ears clashing with the drum of the rain, “I'm good." 

He brought Ignis to his lips to kiss again, but another flash of light illuminated their windows, followed by another crack of thunder, slicing through the rain like a demon’s flaming sword through an indefinite darkness, and Gladio was the unsuspecting hunter it encountered.

“Gladio?”

"Yeah?" Gladio responded, trying to slow his quickened breaths. 

"I’m not going anywhere," Ignis murmured. His hands lightly covered Gladio’s, which had squeezed uncomfortably tight around his waist, “What’s the matter?”

"Sorry,” Gladio relaxed the iron grip of his hold, and he rubbed the bare skin of Ignis’s lower back with his thumb where his fingers had pressed firm into it, “My mind got away from me."

But Ignis wasn’t convinced. The concerned crease in his brow was still visible in the distant glow and his touch was light as he ran his fingers over the scar on Gladio’s forehead.

"The storm's bothering you." 

“Yeah,” the response came out more as a breathless gasp than a formed word. There was no hiding anything from Ignis, "Sorry."

"It’s nothing to apologise for my love," Ignis ran his fingers down his face and rested a hand on his shoulder, "You can’t exactly help it." 

"I can’t really say that for sure—”

Another flash of light, like someone or _ something _, phasing and warping in and out of existence, and a clap of thunder that may as well be the crash of weapons. A split second later Gladio was opening his eyes, not realising he had squeezed them shut. The only thing louder had been the hammering pulse in his ears, which in turn competed with the throb in his chest.

“It will take time yet to undo the damage of the darker years Gladio,” Ignis kissed the corner of his mouth, “It’s okay.”

“Is_ this _ why you asked me to pull over?” asked Gladio, and he closed his eyes again, but with less force as he leaned into the reassurance of the soft kisses Ignis planted all over his face.

“Apart from the fact that I can’t mistake the sound of an impending thunderstorm? Yes,” Ignis paused his kisses and he wrapped his arms around Gladio’s back, “You seemed tense.”

“Nothing gets past you,” murmured Gladio. He pressed his forehead to Ignis’s shoulder, and careful fingers trawled through his hair, leaving a prickle of warmth through his scalp.

“So you’ve said,” said Ignis fondly. 

He continued his ministrations through Gladio’s hair with one hand, and rubbed slow circles into his back with the other, and the outside world was once again quieter.

Thunder rolled along above them, less violent than before, but no less ominous. It must’ve followed lightning, as it always did, but from where Gladio was, Ignis would’ve obscured it from view.

“Sorry,” said Gladio again. In all the actions and reactions his mind and body has learned and automatically employed, this was the only thing he ever learned to say in moments like these.

“It’s not your fault,” Ignis whispered back.

“We gotta weather out the storm somehow,"

“And I’ll be right here with you,” said Ignis, “Tell me. What can I do?”

Gladio raised his head from Ignis’s shoulder and met his pale unfocused eyes again. The worry was still there, almost a permanent indentation between his scars, and it was another thing Gladio needed to chase away. He slowly travelled one hand past Ignis’s waist, slipping under the waistband of his pants to rest a thumb against the jut of his hip bone.

“Distract me?” Gladio asked, and he rubbed his thumb on his hip in slow strokes that he hoped got the meaning across.

“However should I do that?” asked Ignis, the mock innocence in his voice so sweet in his hushed whisper.

“However way you want,” Gladio whispered back.

There must’ve been another flash of lightning, otherwise Gladio wouldn’t have taken notice of the plumpness of Ignis’s lips that had him pressing his mouth against his as Ignis rode him in the backseat of their cramped five-seater car. His blood still pulsed loud in his ears, but it was in the absence of sudden light and booming sounds.

“Focus only on me,” had been Ignis’s instruction when he had knelt between Gladio’s legs.

Thunder would’ve have followed, as it always inevitably did, but Ignis had leaned forward and wrapped his arms around his neck and moaned in his ear. He filled all of Gladio’s senses, his heat engulfing him and prickling across his skin under Gladio’s hands, where he held him by his hip and stroked him to the timing of his thrusts. The sight of his pale back and it's faint scars under his ruched up shirt in the near darkness demanded his gaze, and for that moment Gladio relished the flash of lightning that illuminated it for him. 

His low moans, and frantic whispers of _ Gladio, I'm right here— Look only at me— _drowned out the heavy hammer of rain and the distant rumble of thunder. The smell of sweat mixed with the cologne he put on the morning they departed, and the taste of salt on the skin of Ignis's neck, and the sweetness of his mouth made him forget they were in the musty back seat of an old car under the pouring rain. 

The demons were long gone. There was no longer a need to chase after a warp-happy Prince. The unpredictable summer rain would predictably have an end, and so would the evening. All that was there was lightning, thunder, and Ignis.

The last clap of thunder had been as loud as a gunshot.

But all Gladio heard was the sound Ignis crying his name out in his ear, as he pulled him along with him to his climax.

Their heavy panting soon slowed and they lay across the back seat, two men too tall for the cramped space, their legs tangled and bent under their old pilled throw blanket. The width of the seat was just enough that Ignis had to half lie on top of Gladio, but his was a comforting weight that ground him to the present, despite the continued torrent of rain and the persistent rumble of thunder.

“Can I ask you for another thing?” said Gladio.

“But of course.”

"Tell me a story."

"What of dear?" 

"Pick one where we had to pull Noct out of the water," Gladio muffled the choked sound in his voice by burying his mouth at the top of Ignis's head, "Any one."

"There's one I remember. It was raining then too." 

"Sounds good."

And Ignis's voice in his ear as he began his story was very soft, but it was enough to drown out the sound of the sky splitting open again. 

It would take a few more thunderous evenings and whispered stories, and maybe one day the claps of thunder would only remind Gladio of the cramped but comfortable backseat of a car, the man he loved in his arms and his voice against his ear, and recollected memories of better days.

**Author's Note:**

> very haphazardly edited. please be kind to me


End file.
